Many gardeners, especially those with gardens exposed to the north and east, have had plants die to the prolonged period of frost and snow during last winter. As my garden is very free draining I have had very few plants die in the open ground, but a number of my pot-grown plants have died. Two superb Phormiums, although seeming fine throughout the winter, suddenly collapsed during the first week in May the whole crown turning to mush, which I feel was due to a build up of frozen snow in the centre of the plants. I had a professional gardener in to spike my lawn during early May and having seen the Miracle Grow ‘Patch Magic’ on the television, I asked him to get some and spread it over the thin spots in the lawn. ‘Patch Magic’ is a mixture of grass seed, coir and feed, which when applied by a gardener on the tele’ seems to turn the whole of the lawn bright green. My lawn now has a number of bright green patches, but the rest of the lawn, despite having been fed, looks jaded in comparison. My ‘Lady Christl’ potatoes, which I planted in 25 litre containers during mid March, are now ready for lifting, yet ‘Rocket’ planted at the same time and which should only take 10 weeks to mature is much too small to lift. During mid May, much to my wife’s delight, we were enjoying the lettuce, spring onions and radish, which I sowed in my cold greenhouse during mid March. The spring onions and radish were sown in 15 litre pots and then grown on until ready to use, but the lettuce were first sown in cell trays and when they had two true leaves, were transplanted into tomato
grow bags. During early May, I was walking around Goscote Nurseries and came across a number of two feet tall (60cm) Viburnum carlesii massed with beautifully scented flowers. I mention this as I have an eight feet tall (2.4m) Viburnum carlesii in my garden, which has very few flowers, the reason for this is the tits, bullfinches and sparrows that perch in the bush and pick off the flower buds as soon as they appear.
You will need to prune Viburnums as soon as the flowers have faded. I pruned my eight feet (2.4m) tall Viburnum tinus in mid May, first making sure there were no bird’s nests in the bush. Pruning will keep a plant neat and compact, and if pruned in mid May and then fed with a couple of handfuls of Growmore, strong new growth will have time to form flower buds by September. Many of my Rhododendrons have now finished flowering, as where I can reach, I twist off the dead flower heads, this will prevent the plants from setting seed, if you leave the seed on you will find the shrub will not produce so many new shoots?and it is these which will form the following years flowers. I have two Ceanothus, which grow on a south facing fence and these gave me a superb display of blue flowers during May. During early June as soon as the flowers faded, I pruned the Ceanothus back by almost three quarters of their previous year’s growth. When you prune do ensure you only go back to where there are still a few green shoots, as they will often not produce new growth from old wood.
Gordon Hallam, who reads my column, rang me up to query my April 2010 article on the use of Sulphate of Iron to kill moss in a lawn. I did write two ounce to a gallon of water. Gordon has kept all of my articles and told me that previously I said one ounce to a gallon. I use two ounce in my two gallon watering can, so thank you Gordon for pointing out my mistake.
grow bags. During early May, I was walking around Goscote Nurseries and came across a number of two feet tall (60cm) Viburnum carlesii massed with beautifully scented flowers. I mention this as I have an eight feet tall (2.4m) Viburnum carlesii in my garden, which has very few flowers, the reason for this is the tits, bullfinches and sparrows that perch in the bush and pick off the flower buds as soon as they appear.
You will need to prune Viburnums as soon as the flowers have faded. I pruned my eight feet (2.4m) tall Viburnum tinus in mid May, first making sure there were no bird’s nests in the bush. Pruning will keep a plant neat and compact, and if pruned in mid May and then fed with a couple of handfuls of Growmore, strong new growth will have time to form flower buds by September. Many of my Rhododendrons have now finished flowering, as where I can reach, I twist off the dead flower heads, this will prevent the plants from setting seed, if you leave the seed on you will find the shrub will not produce so many new shoots?and it is these which will form the following years flowers. I have two Ceanothus, which grow on a south facing fence and these gave me a superb display of blue flowers during May. During early June as soon as the flowers faded, I pruned the Ceanothus back by almost three quarters of their previous year’s growth. When you prune do ensure you only go back to where there are still a few green shoots, as they will often not produce new growth from old wood.
Gordon Hallam, who reads my column, rang me up to query my April 2010 article on the use of Sulphate of Iron to kill moss in a lawn. I did write two ounce to a gallon of water. Gordon has kept all of my articles and told me that previously I said one ounce to a gallon. I use two ounce in my two gallon watering can, so thank you Gordon for pointing out my mistake.
